A sudden gust of wind blew, and the monster was swept away. The young girl, Freesia, thought it was just the result of the sudden wind.
But no, it wasn't.
The presence of the woman holding a sword emitting a brilliant light immediately dominated the air in front of Freesia.
Blood sprayed and white hair fluttered. She gritted her teeth, and her eyes gleamed with a fierce intensity.
"Princess…?"
It was the woman her sister had recently become so enamored with, the one she couldn't stop talking about.
This woman, with beauty straight out of a fairy tale, wielded a massive sword and decapitated the monster in one swift motion.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, Freesia."
Emma, who had saved Freesia from the crisis, repeated her apologies. Her eyes quickly took in the horrific surroundings.
Corpses were strewn about like ragdolls.
One was Edel, who had just lost her life, and the other two were their parents.
"I'm sorry for being late… I'm sorry I couldn't save you."
Emma's apology was not directed only at Freesia. She was speaking to all the villagers who had turned into corpses.
Emma did not shed tears. She thought that shedding tears while having let them die would be akin to mocking them.
Instead, she gathered all her strength in her eyes. In her eyes that burned like flames, more fuel was added.
Ssskkk.
The sound of withered grass being trampled echoed from all around. In the wide-open space, red monsters who had witnessed their comrade's death were rapidly gathering.
Emma raised her sword even higher. There was no hesitation in her movements. This might be the last time. She might really die. Though such thoughts crossed her mind, she moved even faster to shake them off.
Zing—!
Emma designated a radius and cut down the monsters that crossed that line one by one. With each strike, a monster's head fell with a thud.
One could feel the vibration resonating from Emma's aura-enveloped sword.
One by one. The heads of the monsters that invaded the area fell to the ground.
At a glance, it seemed like she was holding her ground, but upon closer inspection, her continuous movements were rough.
Unlike her usual graceful and smooth motions, each of her actions was overly forceful, sometimes drawing her body in.
Even now.
"Urgh…!"
After slaying one monster, she couldn't seamlessly connect her next move and was pierced in the side by the tentacle of another nearby monster.
Emma endured the pain.
Swish!
Then she cut off the tentacle and immediately charged forward, slicing the enemy's neck.
[Groan.]
[Scream!]
[Growl.]
[Huh?]
[Gr-r-r-r—]
The more she killed them, the more annoying the sounds became. What initially seemed like a dozen monsters now appeared to be several dozen surrounding her.
Emma did not stop moving. She faced all the enemies gathering around Freesia.
She did not make more than two moves per monster. The speed at which they swarmed in was too fast. If she used more than two moves, Freesia and her own blood would soon spill all over.
Crack.
This time, Emma's rib was broken. She was hit by a charging monster. Even so, she did not stop her movements and continued them seamlessly. She stepped on the fallen monster's corpse and leaped forward.
Whack.
After cutting down another monster, tentacles from two different monsters pierced each of her legs.
She immediately severed them and charged again, but her speed and power were gradually diminishing. As time passed, the radius she was protecting shrank, and the monsters closed in.
"Grr, ugh…!"
The monstrous claw eventually reached Freesia. Freesia clasped her hands over her mouth, suppressing the scream that desperately wanted to escape.
Emma knew what that gesture meant. She had experienced the same thing when she was young. That moment of watching her sister's last moments in a narrow warehouse, trying to stifle her gasping breaths.
Leap!
Gathering magic at her feet, Emma jumped and flew towards Freesia. Her actions were not driven by judgment or consciousness. Her body moved instinctively.
"…!"
However, Emma's desperate attempt did not reach Freesia.
Crunch.
The monster accurately bit down her flying body. The monster's large teeth engulfed Emma.
Snap.
Her bones shattered. Indescribable pain spread throughout her body. She wanted to scream out and express her agony.
Emma clenched her teeth even harder, shoving her sword into the monster's eye.
Though her posture and strength were lacking, the sword easily pierced through. It was the only spot that could be stabbed without aura. With aura, it was naturally easy to pierce.
The monster screamed and spat out Emma, whom it was biting.
Thud.
Covered in saliva and blood, she fell helplessly.
Her legs… no longer worked. The only things she could move were her hands. Dragging her body along, she tried to crawl towards Freesia, but soon, even that stopped.
The monster, devouring something greedily like it was enjoying a delicious meal, had blood all around its mouth.
Snap.
The sound of fragile bones being ground by teeth.
Emma could no longer lift her head.
At the moment when her muscles trembled and an inexplicable feeling of elation surged through her body, as if the limits of her brain had been lifted—
Emma met her death once again.